Big competition doesn't scare Gators' Walker

Michael DiRocco

Sunday

Jan 25, 2009 at 2:39 AM

GAINESVILLE - Florida coach Billy Donovan figured he had lost point guard Erving Walker last May.The Gators desperately needed another because of Taurean Green's departure, so Donovan went hard after Jai Lucas, one of the few unsigned prominent recruits. After Lucas signed in late May, one of Donovan's first calls was to Walker."There were a lot of people telling Erving Walker that this was no longer a good fit for him," Donovan said. "I told Erving, 'I had to bring another point guard for this year's team [2007-08] because I can't play without a point guard and I understand because things have changed on our end. … If you really feel like you need to re-open your recruitment and make a decision that is best for you, then I will understand.'"He said, 'No coach, whenever I play I'll have to compete and I have no problem going in there and competing and this is where I want to go.' "Donovan was impressed, but not surprised. Walker's high school coach, Bob Oliva at New York's fabled Christ the King High School, had told Donovan he was going to like 5-foot-8, 161-pound Walker for more than his point guard skills and shooting ability.First and foremost would be toughness and desire to make his size a non-issue."Because of my height, I can't be soft and small," Walker said. "Those don't go together."Certainly not on the playground courts of New York, where Walker was often the smallest player. There were plenty of taunts, and Walker loved taking the ball right at the guy with the biggest mouth.By the time the game was done, the taunts were replaced with respect."I love when somebody looks down on me or thinks it'll be easy [to stop him]," Walker said. "If they lose some of their edge that just makes it easier for me. And why not have it easier?"Walker carried that attitude into high school, where he helped lead Christ the King to a Catholic High School Athletic Association championship as a junior. He averaged 16 points and 11 assists per game as a senior and scored 20 points and had 11 assists in the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game.Rivals.com ranked Walker the 19th-best point guard in the country and Walker chose Florida over Villanova, Tennessee, Maryland and Kentucky. When he arrived on campus, he instantly bonded with Lucas, partly because they play the same position, but also because they were the Gators' smallest players. Lucas - who transferred before the season began - was generously listed at 5-11."When him and Jai were here they used to be the two short guys," said 6-6 Nick Calathes. "Now he wants Walt [Walter Hodge] to be his other little sidekick, but Walt ain't having that."Hodge is one of the players who gets on Walker about his height, but it's good-natured ribbing, certainly not the same kind Walker got on the playground."We call him the midget of the team," Hodge said. "We call him Midget Mack. He's a great kid. Every time we joke with him he never gets sensitive or anything like that. We always joke around and he says we're the only two midgets on the team."Hodge remembered Walker from one of UF's summer camps and said that while he instantly liked the quiet New Yorker, he was concerned about his height - until he saw Walker play.Walker drove the lane and repeatedly made shots against much bigger defenders. He made kick out passes for easy baskets. He even tried to rebound."He's small, but he plays like a big guy," Hodge said. "He's got a big heart, so that helps a lot."Walker assumed a more important role this season after Lucas left. He's Calathes' backup at the point, is averaging 8.8 points per game and is third on the team with 45 assists. He's not afraid to go inside or shoot, either, Calathes said."He hits big shots. He's a big-time player in that situation. He gives us a spark off the bench, energy," Calathes said. "He comes in and plays defense, all up in the point guard, so I think he's big like that, too. It helps our team and gets us going."He'll pull up from anywhere, but we have all sorts of confidence in him, and I think coach Donovan definitely has confidence in him, too."Donovan's only complaint is that Walker needs to be more vocal, especially with the other three freshmen. The Gators don't have a fiery, on-court personality, and Donovan is trying to draw that out from Walker."I'm not comparing them as players or people, but he reminds me a lot of Al Horford in that I thought that Al was an extremely competitive guy but never really showed the emotion that Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, or even Udonis Haslem showed," Donovan said. "I would say that Al Horford was steady energy and I think Erving is the same way. He does not get rattled, does not lose composure."We need Erving to be a little more vocal and maybe a little bit more like the way Taurean Green and Joakim Noah were in terms of how to lift up the team, because we don't have those types of guys on our team right now."Donovan said Walker reminds him of Horford, Brewer, Noah and Green in that he cares little about his playing time, scoring, or assists. Winning was more important to them, and it's also Walkers' No. 1 priority."In recruiting, you can't see and evaluate those things unfortunately, but Erving has a lot of those intangible things in recruiting that I know I want," Donovan said. He has the ability to impact winning and that is what I talk about with a lot of the coaches when recruiting, whether or not the potential guy can impact the game."Many guys may be talented, but there are a lot of talented guys who have no impact on the game. Erving Walker is probably the smallest guy I have ever had and he impacts the game with his defense, making a couple of big shots, and just playing tough."

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